Same Old Love
by annikajensen12
Summary: This storyline is about Olivia and Elliot, and how they react to seeing each other again. Will they end up being more than friends or not? Will Olivia even want to see Elliot again? Read to find out. There will be scenes with Noah, Elliot's kids, the squad, and some old friends that I miss a lot on the show ;). Hope you all will enjoy this story.
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing, Dick Wolf does.**

Elliot is walking down the busy streets of New York City, holding on tightly to Eli's small hand. It is Sunday afternoon and they have been out all day, having a fun day just the two of them. They had been to the park, where Eli excitedly pulled Elliot around to deferent parts of the big playground and later throwing a ball around. After the trip to the park, they went over to a deli to get some much-needed lunch.

They have just exited the movie theater, Eli loudly talking about the new Despicable Me 3 which they have just seen, when he sees her. She looks just the same. Same brown hair, same figure, same big, brown eyes. And that smile. A smile that can light up a dark room. A smile she is giving to a little boy in a black stroller. Who is that boy? Elliot thinks. Is it hers, and if it is who is the father? Elliot feels the pull in his hand and then the little voice of his smallest child, and he has to tear his gaze away from her.

"What?" Elliot asks, too distracted by the sight, to hear what Eli had said.

"Are we going home now?" Eli sounds tired, and Elliot understands, he is just as tired as Eli, having spent all day outside.

"Yeah, let's go home and make some dinner. The chance of your siblings making it is 0 to none." All the kids are home on Easter break, and with Kathy on vacation with her new boyfriend Matt, well not new anymore, after all, they have been together for two years and are on their anniversary trip, Elliot has them all week.

"Yeah," Eli says, and together they walk back to Elliot's car just around the corner.

* * *

Olivia had seen him out the corner of her eye and her breath hitched, but she did not acknowledge him. If he knew that she had seen him that would just be awkward, so she kept talking and laughing at Noah, because he was hyper after the movie they had just seen.  
"Okay big guy, ready to go home and eat?" Olivia said pushing the stroller.

When they get home, Noah is sleeping in the stroller. Olivia lifts him up and puts him down for a little nap before dinner. When she sure that Noah is still sleeping she makes her way out his room and starts preparing dinner for the two of them.

As she is making dinner her thoughts drift off to Elliot. It has been seven years since she last saw him, and he hasn't changed a bit. Sure, he is older but his figure is all the same, big with muscles. Muscles she has on few occasions felt around her body. She loved them, they always made her feel safe. And what a turn on they were. He wasn't afraid to change his shirt in front her, and she loved him for his confidence, but at the same hated it. Sometimes she couldn't stop fantasizing about his strong body, late at night lying in her bed, how it would feel to have him lift her up against the wall, and just kiss her senseless.

"'Jesus," Olivia says to herself in the silent apartment. "Now is just the time to be thinking about your old partner." She could already feel herself getting hot.

Just think about something simple, Olivia thinks to herself. What is simple? Noah, he is simple. He is making me feel alive again. I would have fallen into a black hole if he hadn't entered my life.

The squad is also simple. Well not simple, it never is in our line of work, but I can't help but smile when I think of them, they are just like family.

With all her thinking, dinner is suddenly ready. Olivia walks into Noah's room and wakes him up. He is not happy, so I just whisper in his ear that dinner is ready, and he is out of his bed in a second, cause he knows that we are getting his favorite dinner, Lasagna.

* * *

Just a few blocks away Elliot was sitting in his penthouse apartment with his children, eating dinner. Since Elliot had seen Olivia he has not stopped thinking about her. She was all he could think about, and he has been quite since Eli and himself had gotten home. The children had noticed but had not yet asked him about it.

When they were all done with dinner, they help each with cleaning up, while Eli goes to his room playing Xbox before they would all watch a movie.

"Dad, can we ask you about something?" Maureen the oldest of the Stabler kids asks.

"Yeah, sure" Elliot answers and sits down at the dinner table, where they are all sitting looking at him.

"What is going on?" Lizzie asks, always the one to cut to the chase. "You have been quite since you and Eli got home."

"Yeah" Elliot clears his throat and continues. "I saw someone I haven't for a while today. It's bringing back memories." He doesn't tell who he saw today, not sure how they will react.

"And?" Lizzie says, not understanding why it has been keeping her dad quite all night, her dad is usually good at hiding when something is bothering him.

"And what?" Elliot asks playing dumb, knowing what she means.

"Well, who was it?" Maureen buts in knowing what her father is doing.

"Ehm… It was Olivia" Elliot says quietly. He hears a few gasps and sees Kathleen's head snaps up at the mentioning of her favorite person's name.

"Did you talk to her?!" Kathleen asks in a high pitch voice, with a big smile on her lips. Olivia had been like an aunt to all the Stabler kids, but at the same time a best friend they could tell everything to.

"No, I did not," Elliot answers knowing that he now will be interrogated by his own children. He knows that they were a bit mad at him for cutting Olivia out of their lives. He knew they loved her, and that she loved them back.

"Well, why the hell not?" Dickie asks.

"Dickie language!" Elliot says and then continues. "She was with a child and I don't know it is hers or not… Probably is." The kids could all see the sadness in Elliot's eyes when he tells them that.

"Are you gonna contact her?" Maureen asks hoping that he will. They had all seen how it destroyed their dad when he cut all contact with Olivia.

"I don't know, maybe," Elliot answers knowing that he won't contact her, but he doesn't want to let the kids down. "But now I think it is time for movie night. I will make the popcorn, one of you go get Eli, and the rest of you can choose a movie," Elliot says standing up.

"I will get Eli," Maureen says getting up and making her way to Eli's room.

Soon the Stabler clan is gathered around the TV watching a movie and eating popcorn.

 **That was chapter one. Leave a review if you want me to continue, thank you.**

 **If there are any misspellings or incorrect grammar, let me know. I'd like for you all to tell me, because English is not my native language, and I will like to get better at it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I own nothing, Dick Wolf does.**

It is now Monday morning, and Olivia is waiting for Lucy to come take Noah to preschool because she has to go to work early.

"Okay sweet boy, can you sit and play till Lucy gets here?" Olivia asks Noah sitting him down on the ground where some of his toys are. Olivia walks into her bathroom to get her earrings, and just as she has gotten the second in her ear, she hears a knock at the door.

Olivia walks over to the and checks the peephole before answering the door.

"Hey Lucy, thank you for taking him. I have to leave early today, but he is all ready, so there shouldn't be a problem," Olivia says while putting her jacket on.

"It's fine, Liv. Don't worry, I will take care of Noah," Lucy says while picking Noah up from the floor and taking him over to his mother.

"All right, Mommas boy, be good for Lucy, and have fun a school." Olivia gives Noah a hug and kisses him on the forehead before turning around to pick her back from the kitchen counter. She waves a Lucy and Noah before walking out the door.

When Olivia walks into the precinct a half an hour later, there is unusually quiet. She walks into her office and puts down her bag on her office-chair before going out in the squad room to get a cup of coffee.

"Oh hey Lieu, you're here early," Carisi says coming up beside her, making a cup of coffee for himself.

"Yeah, trying to catch up on some paperwork," Olivia answers while turning around just as Fin walks into the squad room.

"Good morning Fin," Olivia says to him, and he just mumbles something she can't make out. She laughs at him, she can't believe after all these years he has been in the force, and he still the worst morning person she has ever meet.

* * *

"Okay guys, new case. Fin and I will go to Mercy to interview the vic, Carisi and Rollins go to the crime scene." They all stand up from their desks, put their coats and are out of the in seconds.

It's four hours later, and they are talking Barba through the case while eating Chinese take out. It was an open and shut case, and they have just arrested the perp after he admitted that he raped his ex-girlfriend in rage.

"Alright guys, good work, now I need to go back to my office and get done with the paperwork," Barba says putting the file in his briefcase and is about to walk out of the squad room before Carisi interrupts him. "Hey, we should all go out to get a few drinks after work. Celebrate that we finally had a somewhat easy case."

"Good idea, Carisi, we haven't had the chance in a while, so if we don't get a case at the end of the day, we can go get a drink around five," Olivia says before looking over at Barba. "Are you gonna come to?"

"Yeah, after I get the paperwork done I will come meet you here, and we can all go together," Barba says, wanting to talk to Olivia. They had all sensed that something was wrong, but when someone would try and talk to her, she would just ignore them using the case as an excuse.

A few hours later and the clock is now 4:45 pm and Barba have just arrived at the precinct. "You ready to go?" He looks around and sees Amanda, Carisi, and Fin standing at their desks talking with their coats hanging on their arms. He looks into Olivia's office, her sitting at her desk looking at her computer. "Liv not coming?"

"I haven't heard otherwise," Fin answers also looking at her through the office window. "I will go ask her."

Fin knocks at her door before entering. He can see that he startled her but does not confront her about it, thinking he will ask her about it later, "You coming?"

"Oh yeah, let me just get my coat and we will go." She stands up, puts her computer and a case file in her bag, go over to Fin, who has picked up the coat from the hanger, and he puts it on her. "Always the gentleman," She smirks. He just laughs at her and shakes his head. She locks her office while the others put their jackets on, and they are now on their out of the precinct and making their way to bar a few blocks away.

They make their way into the bar which is not overly crowded on a Monday, and they pick booth where they all squeeze into.

"The first round is on me," Barba says standing up to go to the bar.

"Feeling generous today, Counselor?" Olivia says with a smirk on her face, and the others including Barba just laugh at the comment.

"Hey, don't give him time to change his mind. Come on, I will help you," Amanda pats Barba on the shoulder and together makes their way up to the bar.

"Three beers, a glass of Merlot and a whiskey on the rocks, thank you," Barba says to the bartender before turning over to face Amanda. "So… Is it just me or have Liv been a bit of today?" Barba hesitates a little before asking her, not wanting to talk about what he considers his best friend behind her back, but knowing that the detectives have spent more time with Olivia today than he has.

"Yeah a little, she has been going into her own world a few times today. You know Liv, she hasn't let it interfere with the job, but when we were having a few breaks she would just stare into space for a minute but would snap out of it again fast." Amanda picks up the beers that have just been placed in front of her, while Barba picks up the glass of red wine and the whiskey. "Mmhh," Barba answers to Amanda's comment to him about Liv.

They make their way down to the booth, and Amanda places the beers in front of Fin, Carisi and herself, and Barba places the red wine in front of Olivia and the whiskey in front of himself. They all talk for an hour about nothing, everyone glad to have an early night off and to enjoy the time with each other.

"Okay guys, this round is on me, and this will also be my last," Olivia says while pushing a bit to Fin so she can get out of the booth, being trapped between Barba on one side and Fin on the other. She starts making her way up to the bar when Fin says, "Well now that I'm up anyway I will go with you."

She makes them same order to the bartender as Barba did the first time, and sits on a chair and sets her elbows on the bar counter, and she rubs her forehead with both her thumbs while letting out a sigh.

"Something is on your mind. What is it?" Fin had also noticed how Olivia would space out a minute or two throughout the day, and the way she rubs her forehead is always a sign of her being stressed about something.

"I.. ehm…" Olivia hesitates a bit. Should she tell him about Elliot? She thought that it was a bit embarrassing that he could still affect her in this way. She hadn't seen him in years, and she just saw him out of the corner of her eye, but still, it made her head spin with so many emotions. She gives in knowing that he will drag it out of her anyway. "I saw Elliot yesterday. At the movies, it was only out of the corner of my eye and only for a minute, but yeah… I saw him for the first time in years."

"Wow," Fin says, and she thinks that he looks genuinely surprised, and she can't figure out if it's because it was so easy to get out of her, with isn't normally how it works with her, or if it's the Elliot part that surprised him. "How do you feel about that?" Fin asks.

"Honestly.. I have no idea. But it doesn't matter, does it? He won't talk to me, he proved that after I tried calling him every day for a month." Olivia smiles at Fin, and if it had been any other they may have bought it. But Fin has known her for seventeen years, and he can see the way her eyes betray her smile. She misses Elliot, even if she is angry, she still misses him.

But Fin just nods and gives her shoulder a squeeze. "Come on Liv, try not to think about him. And you know that I will listen if you need to talk, right?"

"I know," she whispers to him, and she takes his hand down from her should and just holds it for a second. "Thank you." She squeezes his hand while giving him a smile. She takes the red wine and whiskey and walking back towards the booth. Fin exhales and shakes his head while picking up the beers, him thinking to himself that he just wished that Olivia and Elliot would someday get their heads out of their asses and just talk to each other.


	3. Chapter 3

**I own nothing, Dick Wolf does.**

"Are you ready?" Elliot calls out for his children. They are all going to the mall shopping and later eating lunch.

"Yeah, we are coming," Kathleen yells back, Lizzie and her coming out from the guest room they are sharing. Dickie and Eli are sharing Eli's room, and Maureen is sleeping on the couch, her having an apartment a few blocks away from her fathers, so when she needed something she would just walk over and get it.

They have just arrived at the mall, and are trying to figure out what to do from there.

"Why don't we split, us girls going alone and you guys going alone, and then we just pick a time to meet somewhere," Maureen says, deciding to take charge.

"Good idea Maur, where should we meet and when?" Elliot asks his children.

"Pizza," Eli yells, and they just laugh and agrees with him.

"Okay, it is 11 am right now, so how about we meet at 2 pm at Joe's pizza place?" Elliot says and when he sees his children nod their heads, say again; "great, let's go."

They are all walking around, they boys going into children's stores looking for new toys to Eli, Dickie buys a new game for his Xbox, and they all three gets some new clothes. The girls go to stores with makeup and clothes and shoes, and soon they need to go over to Joe's so they won't be late.  
They arrive at the same time, and together they make their way inside and getting a table for six. They order and twenty minutes they have all gotten their food and begins to eat.

"Dad, isn't that somebody you used to work with?" Lizzie asks having noticed someone she recognized outside of Joe's.

"Oh yeah, that's Fin.. and I don't who the other guy is," Elliot says shrinking in his chair and looking down, hoping Fin won't see him. No such luck, because when Elliot looks back up he knows that Fin has seen him at the way Fin is looking at him. Fin waves and Elliot nods back just before Fin turns around with the other guy right on his heels and together they walk out of Elliot's sight.

Elliot looks down and eats his pizza in silence. His children had all seen the interaction between their dad and his old work colleague, and how he squirmed in his seat hoping that he would not see their dad. They looked a one another and shrugged their shoulders, knowing that if they asked him about he would just give them some excuse.

* * *

Olivia has just walked out of her office and is pouring a cup of coffee when Fin and Carisi walk into the squad room.

"Hey Lieu, the owner didn't know much but at least recognized the kid and his father, and he told us that is was only the two of them and they were in a hurry," Carisi tells Olivia. They are investigating a case involving a kidnapped child who was last seen with his father at Joe's pizza place.

"Okay, so now we know that it is most likely that the father has kidnapped him. Get the picture out to every news station and radio station, let's see if anyone has seen them since," Olivia tells her squad and heads to her office where Barba is waiting for her, her having just stepped out of her office to get a cup of coffee while she caught him up on the case.

Fin follows Olivia, wanting to tell her about him seeing Elliot. "Hey Liv, guess who I saw today at Joe's pizza place," Fin says not noticing Barba sitting on the office couch.

When Olivia turns around to look at him with a questioning gaze, about to tell them him that they would talk about it later, but he doesn't let her get the chance to speak before continuing. "It was Elliot, he was out with the kids, eating pizza." He sees the emotions in her eyes but just as quickly they got there they went away again, and she looks over to her couch, and he follows her gaze, finally seeing Barba sitting on her couch. "Oh I'm sorry, I will come back later," Fin says while giving her an apologetically look before stepping out of her office.

Barba had seen how Olivia reacted when Fin told about this guy Elliot, and how she after that moment had retreated into her own world, not saying much the rest of the day. He didn't ask her about it, knowing that she didn't want to talk about something like that where she works, so he figured maybe he should offer her a drink. She had told him no to get a drink, and she kept working on the case the rest of the day.

It's now seven o'clock and Barba has just walked into the squad room. "Liv not here?" Barba asks the squad.

"No she just left, why?" It was Carisi who answers Barba.

"Just wanted to give her the case file again, but it can wait for tomorrow," Barba says and looks at questioningly, knowing it wasn't often the Lieutenant went home early to days in a row. "Something I should know about this Elliot guy?" Barba asks Fin, and the two detectives look on, knowing it concerned their boss.

Fin hesitates a bit before deciding that if he didn't tell them, they would keep asking about it until he would budge. "It was someone I saw today while Carisi and I were out at the mall. She saw him Saturday afternoon, that is why she has been a bit distracted lately."

"Wait, the guy at Joe's pizza place? With all the children?" Carisi asks having seen that Fin waved at the guy.

"Yep, that's him," Fin nods looking a bit sad.

"Who is it?" Barba asks, wanting to know who this guy was that was making his best friend act so weird, well actually not weird for her, but she had been in a great mood lately, and they had all noticed and cherished it, knowing something could easily make build her wall up again.

"Elliot is her old partner. The guy before Amaro." Fin says silently, not wanting any other to hear their conversation about their boss, knowing there had been and still is enough rumors about her.

"Wait. The one she was partnered with for twelve years? The one who made her such a bitch when I first started working here? No offense." Amanda asked, having heard a lot of rumors of him and Olivia, and she had seen up close how Olivia was acting after her, at the time partner, put his papers in.

"Yep, the one and only. But don't mention anything to her, I shouldn't even be telling all you this." Fin says while sitting down at his desk, letting them know that it was the end of the conversation.


	4. Chapter 4

**I own nothing, Dick Wolf does.**

 _"_ _Fuck," Olivia moans when he takes her nipple into her mouth while kneading her other breast in his left hand. He lets her nipple go with a pop, smirks at her before giving her left nipple the same attention he just gave her right nipple._

 _He hears her moan again, and all he can think of is that she will be the death of him is she keeps making those sounds. He lets her nipple go, and begins to kiss his way down her tanned skin, stopping at her navel and dipping his tongue into it, and there's that sound again._

 _He keeps kissing the way down to her pants. He looks up at her, and when she feels him looking at her she opens her eyes, locking her brown ones at his blue ones. He keeps his eyes on hers while unbuttoning her pants. He trails her pants down and pushes them off her feet. He starts trailing kisses up her right leg and when he is at the top he can smell her most private scent, and he loves it. He looks up at her and he can see the glint in her hooded eyes and she nods her head to give him permission. He takes her panties off and he can see how wet she already is. He can't stop himself and licks his way up her slit to her clit, where he takes it into his mouth. Her moans are coming out faster now, and while he is busy making strokes over her clit with his tongue he slowly pushes a finger inside her. He thrust the finger inside her a bit before adding a second finger, making her cry out._

 _Olivia can feel how her orgasm is already building up, and she puts her hands on his head pushing him into her some more. He starts wiggling his fingers and soon he finds her spot making her grip his head harder and her moans begins to come faster._

 _"_ _Fuck, I'm close," she says, making him thrust harder, and when he sucks on her clit taking it into her mouth she comes._

"Elliot!" Olivia moans out loud sitting up in her bed. She is shocked at what she just dreamt about cause she hasn't had that kind of dream since Lewis, not about Brian, not about Tucker, not even about Elliot. She can feel how her pulse is racing inside of her, and how wet her panties are. Oh great, she thinks looking at her alarm which reads 5:03 am. "Might as well get up" Olivia says out loud before turning her alarm off and getting up to take a cold shower.

It's now 7:30 and Olivia is waiting for Lucy. Olivia usually gets Noah to pre-school herself and Lucy picks him up after and spends time with him until she would get home from the precinct, but when Olivia had woken Noah up this morning he had been running a fever.

Olivia is running around the apartment trying to gather all her things so she is ready when Lucy gets there. She hears a knock on her door, and speed walks over to the door opening it and waving at her nanny for her to get inside.

"Hi," Lucy says used to seeing Olivia like this, but when she looks at her there is something different, she thinks that Liv looks a bit flushed. Lucy knows that she can't question Olivia about it now cause then she will get more stressed, and she decides that she will ask her about it when she gets home.

"He has a fever but he is not coughing, so hopefully it has nothing to do with his lungs and it is just the flu. But if something happens please call me, and I will get here a soon as possible, okay?" Olivia says attaching her badge to her belt and picking up her purse. "He is sleeping right now, so just make yourself home." Olivia gives Lucy a hug which surprises them both. "Thanks, Lucy," and with that she is out the door.

* * *

"What do you all want to do today?" Elliot asks his kids. It's raining today so they don't want to go outside.

"Why don't we just have a day inside, we can watch movies and play games?" Dickie asks not really wanting to do anything, after all it is a vacation.

"Good idea, you pick the movie and I will make the popcorn." Elliot stands up and makes his way out of the living room and into the kitchen.

"What are we gonna do about dad?" Lizzie whispers to her oldest siblings while Eli is on the floor picking a movie. The kids had seen how the whole thing with seeing Olivia on the weekend and then one of his old colleagues yesterday was taking its toll on him. "He has been moping around and been in his own world since he saw Olivia."

"Yeah, but I don't know if we should interfere, we know that dad hates it when we do that," Maureen says not wanting her father to retreat into himself like he did when he left the Unit.

"But what else is there to do?" Kathleen asks, already making up a plan in her head. "I may have an idea, let me just think." They all nod their heads knowing if there is someone who is good at planning something like this, it is Kathleen. They all turn to the tv when they see their dad coming into the living room with a bowl of popcorn.

They are about half way into the movie when the oldest kids receive a text message from Kathleen.

'I have a plan' - Kathleen

'What is it?' - Dickie

'Well we need the help from Olivia's squad' - Kathleen

'Good idea. I dad is like this, so must Olivia' - Lizzie

'What do you have in mind, Kath?' - Maureen

'We find a day where none us is doing something. We pick a place, we will take dad there and Liv's squad will take her there. We will just act like we are all surprised and one of us will ask the others if we should sit together, you know to catch up. Then they won't get a choice about talking together.' - Kathleen

'You Kath, you are one evil person ;)' - Dickie

'Great idea, let's do it!' - Lizzie

They all look up from their phones and smiled at each other, already excited about the plan.

 **If you all keep up with reviews, then I will keep up with the chapters ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**I own nothing, Dick Wolf does.**

"Thanks for meeting us," Maureen says sincerely to Fin as he sits down beside her. Maureen, Dickie, Kathleen and now Fin are sitting at a diner, which isn't far from the precinct, so it wouldn't wake any suspicions from his Lieutenant, as he had told her he would bring the food back to the rest of the squad so they also could get something to eat.

"It's great to see you all again - you're all so grown up. But let's cut to the chase because I don't have a lot of time. Why am I here?" He asks letting them know when he got the food he had to head back immediately.

"Well, we don't know if you know this, but dad saw Olivia the other day," when Fin nods his head at Kathleen and she continues, "Well dad has been really down since that. Well, he hasn't been the same since the day he walked out on you all, but since he saw her he has been spacing out a lot and we can all see that he is getting more and more depresses from day to day. We are just wondering if Olivia has told you anything?"

"She told me she saw him too but other than that she hasn't said a lot about it. But she has been spacing out a lot too, admitted it was because of seeing Elliot again." Fin acknowledges sensing they are up to something. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, we were just wondering if you and some of dads and Liv's old friends are up to trying to get them to talk. Not for them to be best friends again or anything, at least if they don't want that, but just to try and give them some closure? We can all see how it is affecting them, and we know them both enough to know that they are both too stubborn to call or text one another," Kathleen chuckles a bit, all her siblings know how stubborn their dad is, but when they meet Olivia and got to know her they all knew that she overpowered their dad on it.

"We can try but I can't promise anything. Liv has been through a lot these last couple of years and I don't want to put any more pressure on her right now. But you are right about the stubborn part and maybe we should interfere just a bit," Fin says before his name is called. He rises and so does the children, they all give Fin a hug and before he leaves he tells them to text him about the plan.

"Well that went great," Dickie says sitting down again beside his sisters and they begin to look at the menu.

* * *

A few days later Fin has just texted Kathleen that he had told the squad about the plan and after a bit convincing and promising that Liv would never know that they were in on the plan, they had finally agreed to do it.  
Fin had then texted with Kathleen about how the plan was to go down.

Fin had asked if Olivia if she would want to go to Melonie's Friday after work and she had asked why, not usual for the squad to plan ahead but he told her that Melinda had asked him if the squad would meet her, Alex and Casey at the bar. Knowing that Noah wasn't sick anymore and after she had called Lucy and asked if she could be with Noah, letting her sleep at her place, she had agreed.

Kathleen walked into the living room where her siblings are sitting and sits down on the couch next to Lizzie. "Okay guys, Fin has just texted me and the plan is on. We are going to meet them at Melonie's at seven o'clock on Friday, so we just have to convince dad to go to the bar too."

"Yees," Lizzie squeals just when Elliot walks into the living room. She gets an elbow to her side from Kathleen and a glare from her twin and she immediately shuts up.

"Yes what?" Elliot asks and sits down in the armchair. He turns on the tv and sits back, waiting for an answer.

"Dad?" Maureen interrupts, hoping he would just want to know what she has to say and then forget about Lizzie's outburst.

"What?" Elliot answers engrossed by the tv which was playing a hockey game.

"We were wondering if you want to go to a bar tomorrow, you know after mom and Matt have picked Eli up?" Maureen asks, hoping he would say yes and they would have to make a new plan.

"I don't know, guys, shouldn't we just be a home for the last night we all are together?" He hesitates a bit, but Maureen knows that it won't take long for him to give in to her.

"We have Saturday together where we can just watch a movie before we head out. You know, we are all old enough, dad." And she was proven right because Elliot gave in, wanting their children to have a good ending of their Easter break with him.

"Alright, but you have to behave, just a couple of beers or something - no getting drunk, alright?" He chuckles and stands up, knowing he would have to start dinner soon.

 **Authors note:**

 **I know this is a short chapter but I already have the next one done so you don't have to wait long.  
I hope you'll are ready for some action in the next chapters. **


	6. Chapter 6

**I own nothing**

"Liv come on!" Fin yells from the squad room so she could hear it in her office. The squad and Barba are waiting for her out in the squad room, all of them ready to go. "If we don't go now we will be late." The plan is that they would get there before the Stabler's is going to be there so she won't get the chance to turn around and walk away, and if she didn't hurry up she would ruin a plan she doesn't even know about. That would just be typical Liv, Fin thinks while rolling his eyes at his boss and long-time friend.

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming," Olivia says walking out her office before turning around to lock her door, and she doesn't see how Barba just shakes his head while Carisi chuckles low enough for the team to hear but not her.

"Okay let's get a move on or we will be late," Olivia says grinning knowing damn well they are waiting for her, and the others just roll their eyes without caring if she sees it or not.

* * *

"Hey, guys!" Melinda says getting up from her chair hugging them all. Alex and Casey take turns to hug them all, and then they all sit down at the table.

"Let get some beers down here," Casey half yells to a waiter who just walked by their table, and soon enough everybody is sitting drinking beers while talking.

"So, Liv, how's it going?" Alex tries to ask discreetly. The girls knew what the plan was, and they had asked what was going on wanting a good reason to be doing this to their best friend, and Fin had explained to them that Olivia had seen Elliot and she was now very distracted.

"Fine, I'm good, Noah is good, and we are thriving just the two of us," She answers thinking it had something to do with her breakup with Ed Tucker and how it was going for her and Noah to get back into a routine without Ed.

"There is no new man or anything" Casey smirks at her friend, and Olivia just rolls her eyes, not wanting to discuss her non-love life, and telling them about Elliot and how that encounter was making her feels things she buried away a long time ago.

"No there is just Noah and me, and that is enough," she tells her friends, making them know that she would not talk about that anymore, not wanting them to set her up or anything as they often had done in the past, which didn't go well at least once. They all just look at one another before Casey shrugs her shoulders, letting Olivia now that she would stop with the questioning it, for now.

They are now on round three and they have been sitting at the bar for half an hour, before the bell jingles. They all look up, except Olivia not knowing that someone she knows has just walked in.

Fin makes eye contact with Lizzie and he nods letting them all know, that Olivia is at the bar. Lizzie nods back at Fin and steps aside knowing her father had been standing behind her and when she moved he would be able to see them, and most importantly, her. And she was right because once she got out of the way she heard the gasp that left her father's mouth when he looked up. She's sitting with her back to him but he would recognize her anywhere, even if it was just her silhouette.

At the other end of the bar, Olivia has just noticed that all her friends have gone quiet. She looks up at their shocked faces, which actually is sincere because even if they have known about the plan, it is still years ago they have seen him. She sees that they are all looking in the same direction and decides she wants to know what all the fuss is about. She turns around and sees a small group standing at the entrance, and in a second her eyes lands on him. "El," she whispers, not knowing if it is him or not. She blinks and once her eyes open again, she is sure that it is him. She abruptly stands up and walks to the bathroom.

"We'll go," Melinda says, and Casey and Alex follows.

"Liv?" Alex calls into the bathroom.

"In here," they hear her muffled response from the stall that is at the far end from the door. She walks out and they see the tears in her eyes. She goes to the sink and splashes water on her face meanwhile, Casey whispers to Alex that maybe this was a bad idea. When they see the glare Melinda gives them they shut their mouth immediately and holds their breath, scared that Olivia had heard Casey.

"What is he doing here? And with his kids?!" They let out their breaths they had been holding in knowing if she had heard Casey she would have confronted them about it.

"I don't know, Liv," Alex says sincerely coming to stand beside her, rubbing her back.

"I saw him last weekend, you know," Olivia tells them staring out into space again. "I haven't stopped thinking about him, not knowing what I would do if I ever stood face to face with him again. I have always been so sure that if I ever saw him again I was going to be pissed. Believe me, I am, but at the same time, I'm so relieved. All I want to do is slap him and hug him at the same time." She gets tears in her eyes again, but she wills them to go away. "Maybe I should just go home."

"No Liv, come on, how many nights like this do you have? You are always working or are with Noah which I fully understand, but everyone needs to let loose once in awhile, and not think about anything." Casey says supportively, knowing that their friend never takes a day off to herself and they could all see the stress coming at her with 100 mph all the time.

"I know, but with him here I can't unwind at all," She tells Casey, letting them all know that she still feels something for Elliot, and never really could let go of him.

"Maybe he is not even there anymore, seeing that you just bolted from the room like that," Alex winks at Olivia letting her know that she is only messing with her. "And if he is here, just try to be here for five minutes, and if you are still overwhelmed you can go home. If you want to, we can go with you, you know have a girls' night, eating ice cream and watching a movie, how does that sound?"

"Okay, but don't pressure me into staying if I want to leave, okay?" Olivia tells them and with a halfhearted smile she says; "Let's go out there."


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't own anything**

When they get out from the bathroom Olivia sees that the Stabler's had sat down in the closet booth there is to their table. She walks back to her chair and while she tries to ignore them. She doesn't want to do this to his kids, all she wants to do is go over and hug them all, but she doesn't want to talk to him.

"My round," Amanda stands up and walks to the bar, getting new drinks for them all. The light banter between all the friends starts again and Olivia tries to enjoy it, but she can't. She can feel him looking at her. She doesn't want to look back at him, not wanting to give him the satisfaction and give him a reason to talk to her.

"Here we are", Amanda has a smirk on her face while putting down the shots. "Tequila," she says loudly and just laughs at her friends' shocked faces. Olivia is already regretting this evening, she thinks to herself.

"Let's do it," Casey says with a laugh. "They are bought so we have to take them."

"Ready, Liv?" Barba says bumping his shoulder against hers, and she just smiles knowing they won't get out of her hair if she doesn't take the shot. "Cheers," she says, and they all down their shots. "Omg it tastes so bad," Olivia says laughing while they all sit and grimaces.

* * *

"Why don't you go over to her, dad?" Lizzie asks her father who hasn't stopped staring at Olivia since they got to the bar.

"I can't. She is with her friends and I don't want to ruin her night out." He lets his gaze slip away from Olivia and it lands on his daughter, and she can see the pain in her father's eyes.

"It's your friends too, you know? Well some of them are, some of them must be new cause I've never seen them before." Maureen tells her dad while looking at the big group. She only recognizes Fin, Melinda, Casey and Alex, she has never seen the others before. "Where are you going?" She asks when her dad starts to get out of the booth.

"Just getting another beer, anyone else needs one?" He isn't happy about them drinking but as they told him before, they are old enough and he can't stop them now. He needs to get away from his children, not liking that they are seeing him like this, so miserable.

"No, we're fine," Dickie tells his dad, and watch him walk to the bar and ordering a new beer. "What are we going to do about dad, he's too afraid of going over to Liv." He shakes his head and curses under his breath for his dad being so damn stubborn sometimes.

"Well maybe this will help, look who's walking to the bar now," Kathleen tells them quietly. They all turn their heads and sees Fin is making his way over to Elliot.

* * *

"Hey man," Fin pats Elliot on the shoulder, and Elliot turns around.

"Hey Fin, nice to see you," They shake each other's hands and turns around, so they are both leaning against the bar with their elbows on the bar counter. "What's up?" Elliot asks Fin, knowing he is angry at him for leaving them, for leaving Liv. A few months after he left the precinct Fin had left a voicemail on his phone, Fin telling, well more like yelling at him about how he could leave them, and that Olivia was acting all weird and that she was moody. He knew she would, the same thing had happened when she left some years ago first for computer crimes and then Oregon, but he knew this was different because he didn't come back like she did.

"Nothing I just wanted to let you know that even if I'm angry at you and all I want is to punch you right now, I think you should try and talk to Liv. Don't ever tell Liv this, but she needs you right now, even if she doesn't know. Hell, I didn't even know she still needs you before after Sunday after she saw you." Elliot's ears perk up at little, he didn't know that she had seen him too. "She had been doing very well these last couple of years, well besides everything that has happened to her, and I think it's all coming back to her after she saw you. She isn't even angry anymore she just stares out into space a little like she in another world. I think she is confused, so stop thinking about how your ego will be bruised if she turns you down, just try and give her some closure."

"I know, man, I let her down. But I shot a teenage girl, she could've been my daughter. I just needed time, and if I talked to Liv she would have talked me into keeping the job, and I just couldn't deal with it." Elliot tells Fin, trying to make him understand that he didn't want to leave her, he just needed to get away.

"I know and I'm sorry for everything, but you should be telling this to Liv, not me." Fin again pats Elliot on the back, leaving him behind at the bar. Elliot walks back to the booth and sits down, thinking about what Fin had just told him.

The kids look at one another, a small smile on their faces, knowing that Fin had said something to make their dad look so lost in thought. He didn't acknowledge them but they were fine with it, having known even before they left the house to go to the bar that he would be spaced out all night and maybe Saturday morning, but if it meant that he and Liv got to see each other again and maybe reconnect then they wouldn't care about it for the night.

* * *

"What was that about?" Olivia had seen the interaction between Elliot and Fin, and she was not happy about it. She was sure that Fin was on her side, him also being mad at him after all these years for just leaving without a word. But now she had her doubts.

"Nothing, just went up to say hello and give him a piece of my mind," He sees the look on her face when he tells her this, knowing that she is thinking that he threatened Elliot and he decided to continue before she could say anything, "don't worry, I didn't do anything stupid, alright?" After he said that he tries to plead with his eyes for her not to question the conversation between them, not knowing what he would tell her if she asked, but she just nodded letting him know that she would let it be, but he knew his best friend and she will ask him about it later, so he needed to come up with a lie, fast.

They turn their attention back to the rest of their friends and gets back into the conversation again. A few minutes she is done with her beer and instead of taking one of the new ones Carisi have just gotten for the group, she decides that she could use a glass of red wine.

"A glass of merlot, please," Olivia tells the bartender, leaning up against the bar with her back to the two groups, not noticing someone walk up to her.

"Liv?" Olivia jumps having no idea someone is standing behind her, usually, she could feel when someone was creeping up on her, but with all her emotions flying all over her place, her body wasn't on alert.  
She turns around and when she sees who is standing behind her, she gets a big smile on her face.

"Maureen? Oh my God, I haven't seen you in years," They give each other a hug and Olivia asks Maureen what she is doing now.

"Well I'm working as a teacher now at Central Park East High School and I just love it. I live a few blocks from dad with my boyfriend Rick, who I have been with for 5 years now," Maureen said with a happy smile, showing Liv how content she is with her life, and Olivia can't help but smile. "That's great, Maureen, I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, Liv. How are you doing?" Maureen hadn't seen Olivia in years but she still sees her as a friend, and Maureen hopes that Olivia feels the same way. Olivia had been just like a best friend for all of the Stabler kids, she would always hang out with them when they were young, taking them to the mall or beach, and they would always get ice-cream and never tell their parents.

"I'm doing fine. I got a kid, Noah, he is 4 years old. And I'm still at SVU as you probably know by now," Olivia smiles at the younger woman while telling her this, and Maureen could see how her smile got even bigger when she mentioned Noah.

"How nice, and yeah, I figured, but where is Munch or Cragen?" Having thought of it when she first stepped into the bar.

"They retired, but we still see them often," Olivia tells Maureen.

"Oh, who is running the squad then?" Maureen asks surprised even though she should have known, no one is getting any younger these days.

"I am actually, I'm a lieutenant now," Olivia tells the girl with a proud smile on her face.

"Oh my God, Liv, I'm so happy for you," Maureen always knew that Olivia would be working the job forever, and she isn't the only one. She gives Olivia a hug again happy for her, "Good for you."

"Thanks," Olivia takes a sip of her wine, the bartender had placed the glass a few minutes ago.

"Well Liv, I really want to talk to you about something. It's about dad," Maureen tells Olivia with a nervous smile, hoping the Lieutenant would hear her out.

"What about him?" Olivia asks and her smile fades a little, she really doesn't want to talk about him right now, with him sitting a few feet away.

"If he was to ask you if you two can talk, can you give him a chance? I know you don't want to and I understand, I do, but he has been through some tough times these couple of years," Maureen can see that Olivia isn't thrilled about the idea but she decides to continue anyway. "He and mom got a divorce, he took it pretty hard, even though he saw it coming, we all did. And he couldn't get over the shooting accident at the precinct, he even went to a therapist, and we all know that is so unlike dad. He needed to get away, not just from the precinct, from all of us. We didn't see him for a few months, but he came back, and he is just the same, you know?" Maureen really wants them talk thinks trough, for all their sakes.

"Yeah, he came back to you, not me, that has to mean something," Olivia tells Maureen, now she just wants to go home and not be at the bar anymore. She takes a big sip before continuing, "And you shouldn't be doing this for him, even if he doesn't know that you are up here talking to me about him, he should be doing this himself, but he isn't, and that just shows that he isn't interested."

"He is interested, Liv, he is just afraid that you won't allow him to talk to you. Even if he left the squad, he misses you all, especially you. He still has pictures of you, one of them is even on his nightstand, well he puts it away at day when we are at his apartment, but when he is going to bed he puts it back up at the table. He hasn't been as happy as he was when he was with you, you two were best friends, and then he saw you and he has been all weird. Will you please give him a chance if he tries to contact you?" Maureen is now pleading, but she doesn't care, she want her daddy to be happy again.

"I don't know Maur, I really don't. Now I have to get back to the table before Fin or Barba comes up to check on me. It was nice seeing you again, it shouldn't be years before we do again." She winks at the younger woman before heading back to her table, and Maureen watch her for a bit before she does the same.


	8. Chapter 8

**I own nothing.**

"Maybe you should just try and contact her, dad," Kathleen tells her dad with a sigh, hoping he will take his children's advice. It's Saturday midday and they are all watching a movie while the children are trying to convince their father to contact Olivia.

"For the thousandths time, I really don't think that is a good idea, she didn't even look at me the whole night," Elliot tells them again, just wanting them to stop this. He is already unfocused most of the time and if they keep talking about Olivia he would go out of his mind.

"She wants you to contact her, dad," Maureen says trying a different approach, hoping her father will fall for it.

"She told you that?" Elliot asks unconvinced knowing Olivia rarely tells something so direct, keeping her walls down at all times.

"No, but she did tell me that she is sure that you aren't talking to her for a reason, that you don't want her in her life at all, and if you really wanted her in her life she would expect you to contact her. When I was talking with her at the bar she didn't once tell me that doesn't want you to contact her, she only told me there is a reason for you not contacting her, and that has to mean something, don't you think?" Maureen had told about the conversation she had with Olivia at the bar, and what the older woman had told her. Elliot got a bit mad not wanting her to go behind his back, and especially not wanting her to fight a battle he had caused himself.

"Can't you just try and contact her, if she doesn't want to talk to you she will tell you," Lizzie buts in trying to help her big sister.

"I'll think about, okay? Now can we go back to the movie and just enjoy this day before you have to go?" Elliot tells them and they all nod their heads and sits back, a big sigh escaping all their mouths.

* * *

"Has he tried to get in touch with you yet?" Casey asks Olivia. Amanda had taken Noah to the park with Jessie, so Olivia, Casey, Alex, and Melinda had decided to get lunch together.

"No, and I don't think he will. If he really wants to talk to me he would have done something, called me, texted me or even meet me in person. He hasn't done any of the things, and I'm he won't do it in the near future." Olivia tells them taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Do you want him to?" Melinda asks Olivia, already knowing the answer.

"Kind of," Olivia shrugs her shoulders and continues. "I want to know why he left and why he didn't text me back or return any of my calls. I want to what is happening in his life, I was his best friend and we told each other anything. I miss him so much. But at the same time, I don't know if I can forgive him, with time maybe, but he needs to explain everything to me, and if he had his reasons I will understand and try to forgive him. But I'll never know, will I? He needs to contact me first." Olivia had thought a lot about what she would do if he contacts her, she hadn't slept all night because of the wheels turning in her head when she had finally gone to bed.

"We get it, we really do," Alex says on the behalf of her, Casey and Melinda. "We all knew you two had a connection, deeper than friendship." Olivia is about to interrupt Alex but Alex puts her hand up to stop her while continuing. "We know that he was married and you never slept together, but we half of the time we could all cut the air with a knife because of your pent up sexual frustrations. You were so in sync and never left each other sides, and we understand why you don't trust him. But for both of your sakes, we all think that you should try and figure something out, cause we that you need each other." Alex is done with her speech, and the group is now sitting in silence thinking about what had just been said.

"I know, and want that too, but he disconnected all communication between us so the ball on his side, it had been since he walked out, so it's up to him to make the move." Olivia lets them know that she wants him to contact her, but what she doesn't know that they will tell him that, so he knows that he is allowed to contact her, knowing that he is afraid of just that, not knowing how Olivia will respond. "So, anything going on in your lives?" Olivia asks her best friends, not wanting to discuss her situation with Elliot anymore.

"Well I've met someone," Casey tells them with a smile.

"What, why haven't you said anything?! Who is he?" Melinda asks with a little whine in her voice.

"His name is Jack, and I haven't told you guys anything because I didn't want you to get all excited if it didn't work between us. But I really like him, and we are going on our fourth date on Wednesday," She tells them and she allows them to ask all the question they wanted. When they are done with lunch they go to the mall to do some shopping.

When they are at the mall they decide to start at Macy's, and not a minute after they got into the store Casey drags Alex with her to another side of the store, telling the others that she needed a new skirt for her date with Jack. Olivia and Melinda just nod their heads already looking for some something for themselves.

"What are you looking for?" Alex asks trying to find something in her friend's style. When she doesn't get an answer, she looks up and sees Casey on her phone. "What are you doing? Don't you need a new skirt?" Alex asks confused. Casey puts her phone to her ear, and Alex knows she won't get an answer before she is done talking to whoever she is talking to, so she starts looking a skirt for her friend.

"You need to contact her now, Stabler!" When Alex hears this, she turns around and in one move she is at her friend's side. What are you doing, Alex try to mouth to Casey, but Casey just shakes her head and continues to half yell, half talk into her phone.

"What do you mean she doesn't want you to contact her?" She gets get quiet for a few second letting Elliot answer on the other end. "Well, you are wrong! You were always so in sync and you two could read each other minds, even if you weren't in the same room, but right now you couldn't be more wrong." When he doesn't answer her, she continues. "She misses you, even if she doesn't want to admit it. And you miss her too, right?" She waits for his whispered reply, letting her know that he is hurting, not because of what she is telling him, but because he misses his best friend so much and with him saying it out loud he can't hide I anymore. "Stop playing around and contact her, you big idiot" And with that she ends the call, letting him think about what she had just told him.

With a small frown on her head, thinking about what she had just done, she turns around. Alex is glaring at her, and she is not even trying to hide how mad she is at her friend.

"What the hell have you just done?!" Alex whispers, hoping that her other two friends are still on the other side of the store, not having heard anything.

"He just needs a little push. I can't take it anymore, they are just meant to be together." Casey tells Alex while taking out a skirt for the rag not looking at it.

"What is meant to be together?" They both hear behind them, and when they turn around they see Olivia and Melinda there.

"Uhm - this skirt and my blouse," Casey improvises hoping they will fall for it. Then they start to laugh a little, and when Casey looks at her skirt she sees that she is holding a purple skirt with flowers at the bottom. Casey becomes quite not knowing what to say, and she looks at Alex for help.

"What she means is that this skirt isn't meant to be together with her blouse she has picked out for her date," She tells them and takes the skirt out of her friend hands. "Are you ready to head out and go to another store?" She asks her friends, knowing her friends hadn't heard what Casey just did.

They went to some stores and got milkshakes, and they were soon going home.

"Last stop before we go home, Victoria's Secret!" Alex says and they all head over to the store.

"Oh, there is 50% off on this rag," Casey see and they all go over to the rag and looks at the bras and panties hanging on it.

"I don't need new underwear, my sex life is second to none right now," Melinda tells the others and they all laugh.

"Maybe because you need new underwear, Mel, no one thinks that a worn-out bra that has lost its color is the sexiest thing in the world, you know," Olivia tells her, and Melinda just rolls her eyes at her while the others laugh, but nevertheless she starts searching through the rag with the others.

"Liv, this would be perfect on you," Alex holds a cream-colored lace bra with a gold pattern on. "It fits your skin tone to a t." Olivia agrees and she finds the bra and panties in the right size and buys it.

Soon they are all standing outside the mall and is hugging each other goodbye. "It's been a wonderful day, we should do it again soon," Melinda tells them and the other nods their agreements. With one last goodbye to each other, they all turn around to their separate cars.

* * *

Olivia is tired from the long day and all she wants to do when she gets into her apartment is to get Noah into bed and take a nice, long, hot bath with a glass of wine.

She hears the elevator ding letting her know that she is on her floor. She slowly walks out into the hallway, trying to find her key in the bottom of her purse while holding a few bags from the shopping trip, and she doesn't notice someone in the hallway. When she finally locates her key taking it from her purse she hears someone clearing their throat just in front of her. She looks up, and what she sees almost make her lose all of her bags.

"Elliot," She whispers, not knowing what to do in this moment.

"Hey Liv, can we talk?" Elliot asks her, hoping she would let him in so he can explain everything to her, and just get his best friend back.

 **I know the first few chapters were short, but that was because I couldn't get into the right flow. But now I know where I want to take this story, and I hope you are ready for an adventure with this story.**

 **I really love your reviews, but I would like some more so I know just how much you all enjoy this story.**


	9. Chapter 9

"What is there to talk about?" Olivia says trying to move past Elliot and get to her apartment. He gets out of her way and let her unlock the door.

"Why I left, everything, Liv. I know you think that I let you down, and I didn't contact you because I didn't want to talk to you, but that is not true. I needed to get away, and after everything, I just want to explain why I did all of these things," Elliot knows that he probably won't be let in by her knowing how stubborn his old partner is, and right now he is praying she is going to give him a chance. A chance to explain everything, and if she still doesn't want to talk him he will still know that he tried.

"I think you let me down?" she says harshly empathizing the think, turning around getting in his face. "I do not think anything, I know. I know that you walked away from me without a second thought, I tried calling you and texting you for months but you never replied, did you? Why should I let you in, why shouldn't I just treat you like you treated me?" Olivia has tears in her eyes but she doesn't care, he was her best friend for twelve years, and he left her without a care in the world for her.

"I cared about you, Liv, I still do. Maybe too much, but we both know that I would do anything for you, so if I had gone to your place to say goodbye to you, we both know that you would have talked me into staying. Please let me explain, Liv" He doesn't care that he is begging now, if she asked him to get down on his knees for her he would comply.

"You get 10 minutes and nothing more, got it? I have had a pretty rough day and all I want to do is to relax with a glass of wine." She opens her door and together they walk in. The first thing they see is Lucy and Noah on the floor playing with cars.

"Hey Lucy, thank you for staying. Have you eaten?" Olivia walks over to her son and picks him up, giving him kisses and telling how much she has missed him all day. Elliot looks at her with a small smile, thinking about how great of a mother she is, even if have just seen her with her son for a total five minutes, some of them happening now and some of them when he saw them outside the movie theater.

"Yeah, I ate when Noah did," Lucy looks up and immediately sees the stranger, she turns to Liv and gives her a confused look.

Olivia just shakes her head, letting her babysitter know that they will discuss it later. "Good, now get out of here. Do you want me to call you a cab?" Olivia hates when her babysitter walks home late night and usually she would call her a cab if she wasn't on her bike.

"No it's fine, I will just take the subway home. I will text you when I'm home, okay?" She smiles at Olivia while putting her jacket on. "See ya, Liv and Noah, have a good evening. You too," she tells Elliot giving him a little smile. And within a few seconds, Lucy is out of the door leaving the ex-partners alone with Noah.

When Olivia finally looks up from her little boy she sees Elliot still standing by her door with a smile on his face, giving her and her son some space. She is almost certain that she knows he is thinking about, he has always told her through their entire partnership, that she would be a great mother. At the time, she had wanted a special someone for her to share a child with, but when she finally had given up on it, with Brian being her last chance and hope, she had jumped the opportunity when Judge Linden had asked her about being a foster parent for Noah.

"Noah, can you go to your room and get into your pajamas? I just have to speak with my friend and then I will tuck you in, okay?" Noah just nods his reply, he then turns to look at Elliot and when Elliot gives a small smile and a wave Noah smiles back and turns around and runs to his room.

"Sorry he is a bit shy," Olivia has a big smile on her face thinking about how cute boy is being, acting all innocent in front of strangers, knowing he is the most talkative child when it's just the two of them and even when Lucy is with them.

"No need to apologize, Liv, I think all kids are shy at that age," He tells, letting her know it wasn't a problem.

"So, what did you want to tell, I'm serious about the ten minutes cause I have to tuck Noah soon," Olivia cuts to the point wanting to get this conversation over with. She sits down on the end of the couch not wanting Elliot to sit close to her if he chooses to sit down to.

"I'm just cutting to the chase now. When I shot Jenna at the precinct it broke my heart. She was the same age as Lizzie, and I couldn't stop comparing the two of them. I dreamt about shooting my own child, about killing my own child. I needed to do something so Jenna wouldn't kill more people, it wasn't safe just to shoot her in the arm or leg, if I did that her instinct would have been to pull the trigger again, and then she would have had the opportunity to shoot another one, to shoot you, Liv," Until now Olivia had been looking at her hands which are laying in her lap, listening intently, but when he told her that he had shot Jenna while thinking of her, she looked up and she could see the tears in his eyes. They now have their eyes locked on each other and he clears his throat and continues. "After the shooting, I thought I just needed a couple of days and then I would be back to work again, but then I started getting nightmares and flashbacks because I would see one of my daughters and I would instantly be dragged back to relive the shooting. I put my papers in without thinking and I went to the closest bar I could find and it all went downhill from there. I started to drink regularly, I was in bed all day, I didn't want to talk to my kids or my wife. Suddenly one day, Kathy started packing my things, I thought she was throwing me out, but I soon figured out that she had signed me up for a 12-day program. I went to counseling and group therapy and I soon got better, and then I went home again. Now I'm doing great, I am really living the retirement life and just enjoying it. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get back in contact with you," Elliot immediately feels a weight lifting off his shoulders as soon he is done telling her his story, and he waits for her to say something.

"How are Kathy and the kids now?" She asks him, he had not expected but accepts it nonetheless, because knowing her she could be throwing him out right now.

"Doing great, living their own life, but they are always making time for their old man. Kathy is living with her boyfriend Matt and we have joint custody of Eli. Eli is ten now and he loves school and soccer," Elliot sees the surprised look on her face when he mentions Kathy's new boyfriend, but he doesn't let her know that he had seen it. That was another conversation they could have at another time, if there is going to be another time for them.

"Liv, I shouldn't let that little boy wait any longer for his mother, so I will just get going. But I'm really glad that you listened to me, and if you don't contact me in a few days, I will know that you don't want to see me again, but please know that if you do contact me we can try to be friends again, you can take all the time in the world, I will prove to you that you can trust me, and if you contact me I will never leave you again," He gives her a small smile, he feels a bit pain of just having to talk about the opportunity of her never contacting him again. He stands up and she follows his lead, standing up to. Together they walk to the door and before he leaves he tells her goodnight, and when she answers in a small voice he smiles at her and closes the door.

When she can't hear his footsteps anymore she turns around and heads towards her son's bedroom. She knows that she won't be getting any sleep tonight because she has some thinking to do.


End file.
